Comments on: Bill Gothard Went Down to Texashttp://www.discoveringgrace.com/2018/04/29/bill-gothard-went-down-to-texas/
Sat, 14 Sep 2019 02:17:27 +0000hourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.11By: Moderatorhttp://www.discoveringgrace.com/2018/04/29/bill-gothard-went-down-to-texas/#comment-25752
Mon, 29 Jul 2019 15:09:43 +0000http://www.discoveringgrace.com/?p=819#comment-25752Bill resigned in 1980 in the wake of the damage caused by his brother. While there were attempts to pin that on him from a dozen different angles that was never proven. You may recall that also involved two lawsuits brought by former associates for millions – both were dropped almost immediately.

We have spent considerable time researching that episode, speaking with folks from that era. If you have information you want to provide, please do so. Many still live, although the ranks are thinning.

Humility? I think of the humility of Paul, who could take the time to rattle off his accomplishments even while stating that he refused to bask in the well-deserved glory. Or even Spurgeon who, when accused of being “conceited”, said:

“Do you see those bookshelves? They contain hundreds, nay thousands of sermons translated into every language under the heaven. Well, now, add to this that ever since I was twenty one years old, there never has been built a place large enough to hold the number of people who wished to hear me preach, and, upon my honor, when I think of it, I would wonder (am surprised) I am not more conceited than I am.”

Bill has 2.7 million alumni from just the Basic Seminar, plus tens of thousands in ATI, a majority of which would testify that his ministry has radically altered their lives, fruit for God that has lasted for decades. We hear from them almost daily, even with limited venues to express that. Emotion, even tears of gratefulness.

We are sorry for your experience. Bill lives and he will talk to you. Let’s see what we can do to bring about some resolution.

]]>By: Moderatorhttp://www.discoveringgrace.com/2018/04/29/bill-gothard-went-down-to-texas/#comment-25751
Mon, 29 Jul 2019 14:57:57 +0000http://www.discoveringgrace.com/?p=819#comment-25751Amen
]]>By: Elizabeth Alexander, J.D.http://www.discoveringgrace.com/2018/04/29/bill-gothard-went-down-to-texas/#comment-25596
Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:53:58 +0000http://www.discoveringgrace.com/?p=819#comment-25596“Advantage Team Bill?” What kind of humility is this? This man has been accused of abject abuse of power and sexual abuse and impropriety. This has happened more than once,with this man ousted in 1980 and he re-inserted himself in power after that. I was damaged by this man because he was reinstated If he had been put out initially, I would never have suffered the abuse I suffered. Shame on you all of your sin.
]]>By: Glory to Godhttp://www.discoveringgrace.com/2018/04/29/bill-gothard-went-down-to-texas/#comment-25539
Mon, 22 Jul 2019 23:57:11 +0000http://www.discoveringgrace.com/?p=819#comment-25539]]>Where is the love? Where is the forgiveness? Who gets to judge?It is all so heartbreaking and how can it not be hurting the cause of Christ. We all sin and make mistakes and I am so thankful I have a Lord that loves me regardless. Let’s pray for all involved even those of us commenting.🙏
]]>By: Moderatorhttp://www.discoveringgrace.com/2018/04/29/bill-gothard-went-down-to-texas/#comment-24250
Mon, 03 Jun 2019 04:38:15 +0000http://www.discoveringgrace.com/?p=819#comment-24250Jay: We are well aware of the “documentation” and have spent considerable time investigating all of it. We have posted our findings. Here’s hoping you spent some time going over that before posting. If something is lacking that impresses you, please make it known and we will either produce what we know, or find out what we don’t know. So let’s see if we can work on an objective basis instead of resorting to slurs.
]]>By: Jay Hhttp://www.discoveringgrace.com/2018/04/29/bill-gothard-went-down-to-texas/#comment-24231
Sun, 02 Jun 2019 00:31:19 +0000http://www.discoveringgrace.com/?p=819#comment-24231Alfred if you are ignorant of the enormous amount of documentation disqualifying BG from ministry beginning in the mid 1970’s, please forgive me. Otherwise, you are obviously a committed fool. I am thankful for some sane people like, Larne Gabriel and Tony Guhr. Sad to say, the church stopped doing church discipline over 40 years ago.
]]>By: Moderatorhttp://www.discoveringgrace.com/2018/04/29/bill-gothard-went-down-to-texas/#comment-24200
Sat, 01 Jun 2019 07:09:59 +0000http://www.discoveringgrace.com/?p=819#comment-24200Until you understand and can verify that Bill was actively talking up Home Schooling long before inventing ATI . . . To his 2.7 million alumni . . . Your comments cannot be taken seriously. Those who attended those seminars in the early 1970s can absolutely confirm that. I did.
]]>By: JMhttp://www.discoveringgrace.com/2018/04/29/bill-gothard-went-down-to-texas/#comment-23915
Mon, 20 May 2019 21:27:40 +0000http://www.discoveringgrace.com/?p=819#comment-23915Historically, absolutely not.

The movement was already in full swing by the time he launched ATI. I would argue he did that as his way of acknowledging the movement and recognizing its validity.

Bill’s ministry predates 1984 for sure, but we’re not dealing with the ministry as a whole – just as it relates to homeschooling. History tells us otherwise here.

I would argue BJU, A Beka, and ACE are the bigger players in taking it from fringe to mainstream. I’m not sure a good case can be made for ATI. Several publishers sprung up during the 80’s and 90’s, all of whom may claim 1 million or more users today. It becomes white noise at some point. What we do know is when the movement began, and we do know who the major players of that were. Bill doesn’t feature into those pages of history until much later.

This does not mean he had no influence. I don’t intend to disparage the man. But I believe history tells a different story than what you might be painting here.

]]>By: JMhttp://www.discoveringgrace.com/2018/04/29/bill-gothard-went-down-to-texas/#comment-23914
Mon, 20 May 2019 21:22:37 +0000http://www.discoveringgrace.com/?p=819#comment-23914That really doesn’t respond to what I said, or even acknowledge it.

I do not deny that Bill is a father of his particular ministry. I was addressing the homeschool movement as a whole, which Bill has little claim to historically. What he did do was found his Institute of which ATI grew out of. But again, that didn’t happen until 1984. The homeschool movement began long before that.

I’m looking at this from the historic standpoint. It will transcend personal experience. Calling Bill a father of homeschooling is loaded. You’ll have to define what you mean. If you mean ATI, certainly. But of the movement in general, I take issue with that. And most of my professional degree requirements are in the field of education history. The movement is far bigger than Bill, and he did come to the table late in the game, historically speaking.

But don’t misunderstand me. I mean in no way to disparage the influence he had on families, and for sure many thousands of families did enter homeschooling because of him. In that case, you may claim him a father, but not of the movement as a whole, just of his particular segment.

As brother JM says on 5/14, there is plenty of credit to go around. A Beka and BJU were pioneer publishers who made homeschooling realistic for middle class evangelicals in the late 20th Century. They contributed a lot.

But a meek little fundamentalist midwesterner with an overhead projector was filling public arenas with many thousands of seminar attendees through the 1970s and 1980s. When Bill Gothard began advocating homeschooling in 1984, the movement took on enough momentum to grow from fringe to mainstream in one generation.

Causation, catalyst, or mere correlation? Doesn’t Bill Gothard place somewhere in those categories?